Diving in Espiritu Santo

Safiya
Harvey & Sue Death
Sun 20 May 2018 06:31
Port Vila on the island of Efate, the capital of Vanuatu was a bit of a
disappointment. Unlike most of the other South Pacific towns that we have
visited, it lacked any charm, being generally dirty, noisy and smelly!
It's saving grace was a French Supermarket that sold a good range of French
cheeses and a couple of half decent restaurants. Once we had shopped and had
a couple of meals out we moved on to Havannah Bay in the North of the Island
which is a pretty, sheltered harbour. We celebrated Harvey's birthday there
with our American friends Ken and Liisa at a lovely Italian restaurant.
Whilst in Etafe we did a couple of days diving, the water was lovely and
warm and clear and we saw some pretty coral and fish. On one of the dives we
came across a very friendly dugong (like a manatee). Also known as a 'sea
cow', these big, rather ugly creatures are surprisingly graceful in the
water.
In Etafe the Oyster fleet split with half staying on the island and the
other half travelling further afield in Vanuatu. We headed north to the
island of Espiritu Santo where we had a very special dive booked.

Santo, the second largest island was a very important base for the Americans
in the Pacific during WW2 because of its large natural harbour. They
stationed 500,000 troops there and built airports, hospitals, roads,
accommodation etc. When the war ended the US offered to sell the buildings
and all their vehicles and equipment to the French and British who co-owned
Vanuatu at the time. Even though it was a bargain price both governments
declined and the Americans not wanting to take everything back to the States
destroyed all the buildings and dumped all of their equipment in the sea.
They built a concrete jetty, pushed everything into the water and blew up
the jetty! This has become known as Million Dollar Point today and we
snorkelled just off shore over what must be the biggest underwater scrap
yard. There were all sorts of vehicles - jeeps, bulldozers etc, engines, and
artillery all encrusted with coral. It was very bizarre.

Another major legacy from the American military occupation is the wreck of
the USS President Coolidge a luxury liner converted to a personnel carrier
that was laden with troops and equipment when it was blown up by a 'friendly
mine' entering the harbour. Luckily there was only one loss of life and the
wreck which can be accessed from the shore is incredibly intact and full of
artefacts. We did two dives but only saw fraction of the boat which is 200
metres in length and 25 metres wide. It was really eerie entering inside the
boat as it lay on its side on the reef as it was almost untouched with
medicine bottles still on the shelves, ammunition, gas masks and crockery
all clearly evident.

While in Santo we took a road trip with two other couples from the rally. We
had a lovely day out visiting Port Orly a fishing village with a stunning
white beach and turquoise water, a BBQ lunch and swimming in a 'blue hole' a
deep blue fresh water pool.
Out time in Vanuatu was sadly very short and after a farewell dinner with
the five other Oysters anchored in our bay, we set sail for Mackay,
Australia. The forecast is good and with just over 1000 miles to go we
should reach Australia in 5 to 6 days.

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